


The Thin Line

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, calm and stoic disregard for the books
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 21:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17516282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "In the end of the movie, Toothiana punched out one of Pitch’s teeth, yeah?(And while I know that it’s the baby teeth hold a link to people's childhood memories, one could argue that that is because adult teeth don’t usually come out.)So, what happens if she, on a whim, decides to try and see what memories that tooth holds?"The memories in the tooth reveal a lot about Kozmotis, to Tooth, but also something about Pitch Black. (I’m sad about not being able to link this prompt to eldritch abomination husbands.)





	The Thin Line

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 8/6/2013.
> 
> I believe that there's another RotG fic out there with the same title? This one is completely unrelated.

The memories have eroded, badly, over the centuries Tooth has known Pitch has been active, but for all the missing pieces and blurred moments, the overall shape of what she saw in his tooth remained clear enough.  
  
The general. The hero. His daughter. The prison.  
  
These are heavy revelations on their own, but to live such memories—to borrow a man’s skin and feel his devotion, his doubts, his love and his fears—it is disorienting, overwhelming. Tooth is glad she decided to sit at the small desk she has in her room before entering the memories, for as she places the tooth on a small square of silk, she sees her arm flicker between its usual feathered appearance and a larger, longer limb covered in deeply tanned skin marred by small white scars. It’ll be a while before she understands the boundaries of her own body again. Residual hallucinations like this are unusual for her, but then again, she’s never entered memories this old—and adult and inhuman to boot.  
  
Inhuman—but not that inhuman. Tooth takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and turns her face towards the sunlight streaming through the palace’s many windows. No memories—not those of human children, not those of human adults, and not those of now, Kozmotis, are ever as simple as the stories or histories made to recall them for those who do not have Tooth’s privileged access. The link between thoughts and actions is often muddy, and Tooth has seen, firsthand, many great good deeds done by people full of fear, uncertainty, anger, hatred, vanity, for reasons ranging from mediocre to downright awful.  
  
Yet as heroes went, Kozmotis was one of the best she’s seen. Yes, he had doubts about his cause. And maybe he delighted in scything through fearlings more than a noble hero should. And yes, he had felt both honored  _and_  angry when he was sent to guard the prison alone. But still. One of the very, very best. She would have loved to have known him—personally, not as a voyeur.  
  
Her eyes snap open as she suddenly realizes that, no, he is not a complete stranger to her in the world outside the memories. After seeing them, after seeing Kozmotis from the inside out—she shakes her head. It can’t be true! Surely this is part of the hallucinations—internal hallucinations. The idea will go away.   
  
It’s not true and she knows it. She’s seen too much of Kozmotis now to not recognize him in Pitch. He’s more volatile now, his emotions running closer to the surface; his sense of humor has become warped and vicious; and his pride and determination have become big problems instead of assets, but the personality Pitch Black has beyond his role as the embodiment of fear is that of Kozmotis Pitchiner.  
  
Tooth would laugh but she’s not sure if it’s the sane thing to do. She would cry but she’s not sure if it’s the right thing to do. Does the thinness of the line between the very best and the very worst change anything, now that she sees it? She knows it cannot. She’s the only one who can see thoughts as they develop over time, actions are still what count more than anything.   
  
And yet…Kozmotis is still there. And she likes Kozmotis. She’s not sure yet how to untangle this, but she is sure of one thing: she’s glad no one will be able to read her memories of this afternoon.


End file.
